Police have arrested two men on suspicion of street racing that killed a 90-year-old woman in West Covina. The accident happened on Christmas Day when one of the street racers hit the woman’s minivan. The other driver attempted to flee the scene of the accident. Both drivers were allegedly drunk.

According to authorities, the woman and her son were driving home from the hospital. The force of the car accident caused the woman, who was in a secured wheelchair, to be ejected from the van. Her son suffered head injuries.

Car accidents like these are not accidents. They are the result of deliberate, reckless and illegal driving. Because of the men’s actions, a family is in mourning.

When car accidents are caused by drivers’ poor choices, families want answers. They want to hear an apology. They want to know that the drivers will be put behind bars. And they want to protect anyone else from going through the pain they are suffering.

While the criminal justice system may punish the drivers for their actions, families can also do their part to ensure that drivers are held accountable through personal injury lawsuits. These lawsuits are the only way that families can recover compensation for medical bills, funeral expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, and other damages, but they can also do more than that.

In drunk driving cases, for example, a family can ask for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. Punitive damages are financial damages meant to punish the driver for his or her actions.